Best oil for my 400ex???

[honda01400ex]

hey i have been running the honda 10w40 oil .............is there A better oil to use??

[katch26]

I use the rotella-t 15w-40.....like $10 bucks a gallon 20 if you go synthetic

[honda01400ex]

is the snythetic better??

[rinaldi]

I heard from 2 different service departments that synthetic is NOT the way to go in the 400. Conventional oil is the route they say.

[katch26]

as long as the oil doesnt have any friction modifiers in it and says wet clutch safe it should be fine. I dont know if ones better than the other the engine doesnt care if it has synthetic or dino oil in it as long as the oil is fresh and if dino lets me change the oil more often (cost wise) to me its the better oil.

[b.lee]

Either Valvoline 10w-40
or Shell Rotella 15w-40

Skip the synthetics, not worth the extra $$.
Might mess up your clutch too if you don't pick the right one.

[dankbud42o]

lots of threads on this.... the search button helps ;) i use rotella 15-40 so far...

[jfwyatt]

+1 for rotella!!!!!!!!!!!

[brianengy]

Read this and judge for or think for yourself.

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

[rooster300ex]

man if u aren't wanting to spend 6 bucks or more on a quart of oil, just goto o'reillys or autozone and get some valvoline 4 stroke 10-40 works great and its just 3.99 a quart. I have 0 clutch slippage

[honda01400ex]

i heard that your not suppose to use car oil in your quads

[coryatver]

The only oil I would run in a 400ex is synthetic 20w-50. These babys run HOT being air cooled and cook regular oil 10w-40 in one short ride. Ran full sythetic 20w-50 for 3 years in my 400ex no problems.

The not running car oil thing is BS they just want you to pay 7 dollars a quart for the same thing with a sticker with a 4-wheeler on it. Just look at the back of the oil bottle and if it doesn't say energy conserving it is safe to use in a quad.

[honda01400ex]

what brand oil are you using?

eveyone is saying run rotella?

and also people are saying that the syn. oil is bad for your clutch..


im tight on money (in high school) and have very limited money and want to use a cheap oilbut at the same time i dont have time and or the money to mess up my motor and have to rebuild!!:(

[Wheelie]

I've run Honda oil in my quad since it was new and will continue to do so. Good oil.

[f4iracer]

Originally posted by Wheelie
I've run Honda oil in my quad since it was new and will continue to do so. Good oil.

+1, i run honda oil in my sportbike too. I used to run mobil 1 in it but now i run honda gn4.

Whoever said that the 10w40 oil gets burnt up in 1 short ride is wrong.

My quad runs pretty hot and i've changed the oil 2 times since i bought and neither time has the oil been burnt up......my car oil is burnt up when i change it no doubt about that....that stuff is always brown.

This stuff was just barely cloudy, once after 4 hours and once after 10 hours. I'll be doing my 3rd oil change after about 20-30 hours this time.

[TRXRacer1]

Originally posted by coryatver
These babys run HOT being air cooled and cook regular oil 10w-40 in one short ride. Not even close to true! Conventional is perfectly fine and will last several rides. Do an oil analysis if you ever dare try dino again. Blackstone is a good place and has done all of mine.

[coryatver]

Originally posted by TRXRacer1
Not even close to true! Conventional is perfectly fine and will last several rides. Do an oil analysis if you ever dare try dino again. Blackstone is a good place and has done all of mine.


You may be right I exagerated a lot when I said one ride. Maybe for average riders it will work fine But not when you race xc and have a modified motor. The motor runs hot and the oil is burned toast very fast. I change my oil every 2 hour xc race. I use to use 10w-40 honda oil but it doesn't hold up 20w-50 weight synthetic is the only way to go.

Now I have a 450r which has seperate oil for motor/tranny and run 15w-40 synthetic in both.

and all u suckers buying honda oil its just oil with a honda sticker on it doesn't make it better than say rotella.

[TRXRacer1]

Originally posted by coryatver

and all u suckers buying honda oil its just oil with a honda sticker on it doesn't make it better than say rotella. That's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help the ATVin' community!

[CJM]

mobil 1 15w-40 or shell rotella 15w-40. Either one really I like.

[Muzzgit]

I use Bel-Ray Thumper in both bikes.

It is 20W-50 semi synthetic and states on the lable it is safe with wet clutch engines. I buy a small (1L) bottle of Bel-Ray 10W-40 ATV TRAIL (rust defence) and mix it with the Thumper.

I do my EX about every 5 - 7 hours and Jaqcui's KFX every 10 hours.

The local engine builder recommended Tumper for my bike and I trust him over anyone else.

[hwf-racing]

I run Amsoil with no problems, I used to blow some blue smoke out of the exhaust until i switch. However, my neighbor is a pro- quad racer and runs the Rotella but he changes the oil after 2 motos and thats is a all race ATP engine!!!

[radchad3]

I also run Amsoil fully synthetic 10w-40. I little expensive but I do feel like it is a good quality oil that won't make the clutch slip. Has been very good in my experience! Chad

[Ryan'07400ex]

and all u suckers buying honda oil its just oil with a honda sticker on it doesn't make it better than say rotella. [/B]


I think brand doesn't matter as much as api classification the HONDA GN4 is the same as some of the pennzoil stuff my dad had for a tractor dealersip in the same weight.

but at least with the HONDA your getting what the professionals who make the 400ex say works or else they wouldn't put it in there.

Of course you have to take in consideration of temperature

[TRXRacer1]

Originally posted by Ryan'07400ex

but at least with the HONDA your getting what the professionals who make the 400ex say works or else they wouldn't put it in there.

That's where people get it wrong. The engineers have nothing to do with that bottle of oil that says HONDA on it, that's the marketing department.

[Z15]

Most automotive engine oil is developed to minimize friction and maximize fuel economy. Since the oil for many 4-stroke motorcycles is circulated not only through the engine [as with an automobile], but also through the transmission and clutch, different characteristics are required of the oil. First, a certain amount of friction is necessary to prevent clutch slippage. Second, the oil needs to prevent wear and pitting in the gears of the transmission.

One thing to remember is that the OEM oil is not made by the ATV manufacturer; it is bid out to oil companies that special in private label oils. The lowest bid for their specs usually is the winner of the contract. The company's (Lube-Tech for example) do all the work, bottle, label and distribute. All the OEM has to do is set the price.

Contrary to consumer perception, OEM lubes often are equal to the performance quality of the cheapest aftermarket oils on store shelves. Dealers can command higher prices simply because the consumer perceives it to be more appropriate for the application. Not many people stick with OEM in their cars or trucks; they either bargain hunt and buy the cheapest oil or switch to a quality synthetic. When it comes to power sports, everybody worries about switching from OEM. I am not sure why people worry about it, but as long as it meets the specs you are fine. There are 2 things you can do. Buy oil that meets the minimum specs or go all out and by the best synthetic to keep it clean and make it last longer.

[rooster300ex]

Originally posted by honda01400ex
i heard that your not suppose to use car oil in your quads

i'm not talkin about car oils its 4 stroke oil for motorcycle engines and wet clutches. the valvoline ATV oil works great too. Both for wet clutches

[killer400ex]

royal purple baby, i used Honda gn4 for break in and switched over to royal purple and kept it running strong and cool

[TRXRacer1]

Originally posted by killer400ex
royal purple baby, i used Honda gn4 for break in and switched over to royal purple and kept it running strong and cool When I used to be a drill rig operator we tried Royal Purple in our top head drive units once(similar to trans gears just larger and slower). The stuff didn't last any longer then house brand synthetic from Farm and Fleet. We switched back to the cheap stuff after that because although the Purple die was neat it wasn't worth the money.

[Z15]

Royal Purple got caught making claims they could not back up.

http://www.imakenews.com/lng/e_article001398592.cfm?x=b11,0,w



NAD recommended Royal Purple discontinue claims such as “Increases horsepower and torque by as much as 3 percent,” “Reduces Engine Wear by 80 percent,” “Superior Oxidation Stability” and “Provides Film Strength Up to 400 Percent.”

[honda01400ex]

hey i dony like the royal purple.....i went and got some rotella 15w40 and it works great! and keeps my motor cooler than the gn4 oil

[mx8]

All I know is that I used to have a 1995 honda atc 350x three wheeler BACK IN THE DAY. We rode almost everyday all day and all I ran was 10w 40 car oil in it. I don't ever remember changing the oil in that three wheeler. I never had any motor problems at all just replaced the clutch. Now I have a 400ex I run the same oil but I do change it more often. Castrol GTX 20w-50. I think that people believe to much hype that they read. :cool:

[400exfirebrethr]

i use amsoil severe service 20w 50 and it works perfect dont trust cheap brands